Is my setup alright?

[Aussie]

Hey 1 more ? for you guys..

Is it normal for him to run away from the mister? Every time I mist him he freaks out and runs for cover haha. Even when I use warm water he still runs away. He's actually fallen once because he was so freaked out, he landed on his leaves so he was alright though. I try to mist around him and not directly at him but I also want to give him a chance to drink.

 

[bradley]

some like misting others dont1 dont worry if he doesnt like them. Try not to spray him directly if possible. My two don't get a choice!!! As i use an autoimatic mister if they are sitting under it they get a blast of water on them!

 

[Aussie]

Hahah alright I'll just keep spraying around him. Thanks!

 

[sdheli420]

I also find that many USA keepers have their chams out in natural sunshine for periods of time when possible. Here in the uk we have approx 2-3 days a year where they can go out. We rely much more on artificial supplemetation and uv bulbs!

outside is always the best, it is true!! and they love you for it too..i take mine out side for an hour or two and stay real close to them (seriously watchout for birds, and other creatures that can and will try to eat your lil buddy!!)

 

[ataraxia]

Im confused and need some guidance

DO NOT USE the 10.0 it is too much uvb..

Please explain why this is too much uvb. What uvb levels are baby chameleons out in the wild subjected to compared to a 10.0 uvb bulb?

if so your uvb levels are safley covered, last thing you want is OVEREXPOSURE he will have no place to ecape the ultraviolet rays, they need "cool down' periods of low uvb (like hiding in shade, and to literally lower body temps) your temps where too high

In a 10-12 hour photo period. Can you also please explain overexposure from a 10.0 uvb bulb and what effects it will have.

How much heat does your uvb bulb put out and how far does the heat and uvb rays actually penetrate from the uvb bulb all the way down to the bottom of 36" cage?

 

[DekuScrub]

Hi i know im jumping in a bit late but here is my take on the situation.

"Watering - I mist the cage every morning with warm water from the tap. I live in milwaukee in the dorms, idk if the water is good/bad for him. I also mist throughout the day 5-10 time until all the leaves are soaked. I also have a little dripper thing from Zoomed set up also. I haven't seen him drink at all, but when I had him before he was always really shy about it so idk."

I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this (unless i missed it amongst the severe fixation on lighting) if the water you are using is public water it is likely chlorinated. you DO NOT want to use that water (its poison). that in it self could partially explain his distaste for being sprayed. but in all likelyhood hes just afraid of the spray.

start using bottled or spring water.

i believe you can also dechlorinate the tapwater by just letting it sit for a day or two. so cheaper than buying cases or gallons of water you should be able to fill up a 5 gallon bucket and let it sit for a few days. but there are chemicals and additives in most public water, so your safest bet is to start getting gallons of spring.

ive never had to dechlorinate because we run off of well water so maybe one of the other forum goers can elaborate on what processes are best for dechlorination.

as far as getting him more accustomed to being sprayed goes, start off soft and indirectly, or even have a dripper going beforehand so hes already in the mood to drink.

if youre using a spray bottle i would highly recommend getting a pressure sparyer. you can get them at most hardware stores, or garden centers. even a few specialty petstores will carry them. all you do is pump it up to pressurize then hold the trigger. this will give your fingers a break if your spraying him like 20 times a day. and "psssssssssssssssssssssss" wont be as scary as a "psht phst PSHT" misting action

though ive had a couple chameleons that never got over their fear of water. seems like it depends on the personality.

now that ive covered water on to HUMIDITY!

get a plant, or two. youll be amazed at how well they help maintain humidity in your enclosure. make sure you clean em off to avoid exposure to pesticides. literally, a little dish detergent sprayed on the leaves then let it sit in a shower to rinse off.

id recommend a ficus at that age, or schefflera. and run a couple vines horizontally. tie them to the screen with thin wire or twist ties.

youll run into the white stuff on the nose if youre over supplement or if hes a bit dehydrated. it could also be due to the heat from the basking lamp. as he exhales through his nose his breath dries.

the huge debate youre seeing about uvb can be solved easily. keep the 10.0s and get live plants for coverage. in fact with the D3 supplement itself is sufficient, its just not how they naturally obtain this nutrient. and the lighting, i feel, is better for their psychological well being and dont over do the D3 supplement a little goes a long way. you dont need you crickets running around looking like powdered doughnuts. be careful with the multivitamin as well. personally i perfer gutloading over dusting multivitamins. that way you avoid hypervitaminosis (causes kidney damage and such)

the 100w bulb is risky, even if the basking temp is a-okay they can still climb the screen right up to underneath the light. so lower wattage and closer spot is preferential

i think i covered everything i wanted to mention.

so to sum that up,

make sure you use dechlorinated water

get a couple of live plants it will raise your humidity level (and you cham will love you for it)

your lighting should be just fine, esspecially if you can provide him with plenty of shade.

dont over supplement on the D3 that may be why hes got dusty nose

 

[Aussie]

Thank you!!!!

I've got to go to class but I can reply quickly

I have been using a little sample of reptisafe water drops that came with my dripper, but I'll definitely start letting the water sit or buying bottled water.

I also have his lights tipped back a little so they're not directly on the screen, so if he does climb on the ceiling it wont be quite as hot.

Thanks for the help! I'll look into all of those things

 

[sdheli420]

Im confused and need some guidance



Please explain why this is too much uvb. What uvb levels are baby chameleons out in the wild subjected to compared to a 10.0 uvb bulb?



In a 10-12 hour photo period. Can you also please explain overexposure from a 10.0 uvb bulb and what effects it will have.

How much heat does your uvb bulb put out and how far does the heat and uvb rays actually penetrate from the uvb bulb all the way down to the bottom of 36" cage?

baby chameleons in the wild stay hidden away from predators on the ground, and especially in tree tops or open cover..they also are just that "in the wild" with plenty of room to control thier body temps and hydraition loss by moving to shady hidded foliage areas..as for 10.0 even on the box says for desert species, they wouldnt put that there if it really wasent nessasary, and yes if you have a really dense large cage im sure you can still safley use it..

as for my bulbs they are approx. 1 foot from the top of my tree (9 foot tree 12 foot ceilings)..and its pretty dense, however they also go to the window (its open with just the screen holding them in) and they get direct sunlight as well, i also control my cal with d3 intake for them by only a light dusting twice every other month so there is no over dosing

p.s. ive never seen over exposure but have heard of it in stories from other people..it was bad basically, almost as bad as no supplemetation..balance is needed in everything i guess, lol

anyway heres my set up, so you can see with your own two eyeballs, lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNbnNc03Dos

 

[Aussie]

Hey dude I actually watched your video on the cricket cup and made my own It works pretty well. I used a normal water bottle for it though and sometimes the crickets can jump out haha.

 

[ataraxia]

baby chameleons in the wild stay hidden away from predators on the ground, and especially in tree tops or open cover..they also are just that "in the wild" with plenty of room to control thier body temps and hydraition loss by moving to shady hidded foliage areas..as for 10.0 even on the box says for desert species, they wouldnt put that there if it really wasent nessasary, and yes if you have a really dense large cage im sure you can still safley use it..

as for my bulbs they are approx. 1 foot from the top of my tree (9 foot tree 12 foot ceilings)..and its pretty dense, however they also go to the window (its open with just the screen holding them in) and they get direct sunlight as well, i also control my cal with d3 intake for them by only a light dusting twice every other month so there is no over dosing

p.s. ive never seen over exposure but have heard of it in stories from other people..it was bad basically, almost as bad as no supplemetation..balance is needed in everything i guess, lol

anyway heres my set up, so you can see with your own two eyeballs, lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNbnNc03Dos

sweet free range by the way.

Picture on a box of most products can be deceiving. examples:




I will agree that they are intended for reptiles that demand a stronger strength. However, most species of chameleons will thrive under these lights also. I have not heard of over exposure within a typical photo period. The body will simply absorb what it needs and thats it. as far as heat from a uvb bulb....i dont see them producing enough heat to cause this species of chameleon harm. The animal can move about the cage to evade any heat or uvb as the strength of the bulb drops considerably at lengths beyond 12 inches. That in combination with the screen, branches, vines, foliage within a environment this animal will not suffer from a properly performing 10.0 uvb bulb.

I raise young veileds and panthers under power suns. They blow any 10.0 bulb out of the water when it comes to uvb strength. If the dang bulb wasnt so high in wattage and didnt produce as much heat... i would have all of my chameleons under them.

 

[Aussie]

Hah that's the same waterfall that I had for Roger except it was the large. I don't have it anymore though because it gets so gross.

I think the problem was definitely the water because I've been using tap water the whole time because a lot of people said it'd be fine. I got a big jug of bottled water today and when I misted him with it he already seemed to like it better.

Thank you all for the great help